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December 27, 2014

Why we can Appreciate "Minor" Life Developments

The lives of most people don’t usually play out in the manner of a straight, quick line to success. That just isn’t reality for most people.

Many of us find that our life’s journey resembles a roller-coaster ride. The speed of our lives will vary from blinding fast to slow. Also, our path will not always be smooth. We will be confronted with hills and valleys.

The trick is to learn to be grateful for our daily progress, no matter how slow, or complicated, it is. Any victory is worth celebrating.

In my book, Accept No Trash Talk, I discuss the importance of building on every victory that we have. The following is a direct quote:

My purpose in mentioning the life stories of particular celebrities, including their struggles, is to demonstrate to all of us how victories are often gained in baby steps. Colonel Saunders did not go from bankruptcy to selling a 14.8 million dollar business overnight. Helen Keller didn’t go from an angry, uncommunicative young girl to a prolific author, lecturer, and college graduate overnight. Jackie Robinson had to fight rampant racism over a period of years in order to finally win his place in history. Teddy Roosevelt didn’t transform his sickly body into that of an athlete overnight. Alexander Graham Bell had to wait patiently for his invention, the telephone, to become appreciated. Wilma Rudolph did not overcome childhood polio in just a few years.

What these people had in common was persistence and a belief in their own capabilities. I’m hoping this book can enable the reader to trust more in his own intuition and capabilities as he embarks on his own path to victory.

For my part, I am not the mentally, physically whole person I hoped to be at this point in my life. On the other hand, I am not the same person I was. I am thankful for the small improvements I see in my life daily. Even if I am just taking baby steps forward, I am still moving forward. I have trained myself to be grateful for what might appear to be small blessings. Small blessings can boost a person’s confidence level tremendously.

My Conclusion

It’s a cliché, and I’ve probably quoted it before: life is a journey, not a destination. The “I’ll be happy when…” attitude doesn’t usually work. If we aren’t happy now in our imperfect lives, chances are we won’t be happy later (because our lives will continue to be imperfect.) The hard truth is that life is usually flawed, and there are no guarantees at any time. All we can do is move forward in baby steps.

Finally, I agree with the quote below; there’s no such thing as “perfect”, or “done”. The wisest, most humble individuals realize that there’s always room for learning and growing.